1. Technical Field
This invention relates to hinges. More particularly, it relates to hinge constructions having utility in hingedly connecting a furniture door to an article of furniture.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional hinges typically include a base which is fixedly secured to an object such as the side panel of an article of furniture. A hinge body is hingedly connected to a hinge cup, and the cup is fixedly secured to a door. The hinge body is usually connected through a plurality of link members to the body member. A connecting member is attached to the body member of the hinge body and is adapted for releasable engagement with the base.
Conventional hinges of this type are described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 247679/1989.
The base is usually provided with a lip, which is integrally formed at a first end thereof, and a stop lever is formed at a second end thereof. A transversely disposed pin is positioned at a first end of the connecting member, and said pin is adapted to engage the lip of the base. The second end of the connecting member includes a hooking part for releasable engagement with the stop lever of the base.
To connect the hinge body to the base, the connecting member is fitted over the base by hooking the lip of the base with the transverse pin at the first end of the connecting member, and the hooking part at the second end of the connecting member is brought into engagement with the stop lever of the base. In this way, the hinge body is attached to the base and the connecting member is disposed in sandwiched relation therebetween.
The hinge body is removed from the base by reversing said procedure. The stop lever is displaced so that the second end of the connecting member is disengaged from the base body and the transverse pin is disengaged from the lip of the base by displacing the connecting member. Thus, the hinge body is removed from the base together with the connecting member.
In the hinge construction shown in said Japanese Patent Publication, to connect the connecting member to the base, the transverse pin at the first end of the connecting member is brought into engagement with a lip formed in the base; the stop lever of the base is then rotated to engage the hooking portion at the second end of the connecting member. That procedure is reversed to remove the hinge body from the base.
Those skilled in the art of hinge construction will appreciate that the above-described attachment and detachment operations are troublesome.
What is needed, then, is a hinge having a hinge body that is quickly and easily attachable to a base through a connecting member, thereby facilitating simple attachment and detachments of the hinge body from the base.
There is also a need for a more durable hinge construction. However, the prior art, when considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, neither taught nor suggested to those of ordinary skill in this field how an improved hinge construction could be provided.